Sewing White Pillows

DSC_0207All I wanted was some more white.  I blame my major home transformation on these little white pillows.  What seemed like a small project has snowballed into repainting and reorganizing the whole house.  Over the next month or so I will be sharing what I have been doing.  For now…some beautiful white pillows…of course, done as quickly with as little effort as possible…

I used some painter’s cloth I had which for some reason never got used.  I love working with fabric that already has sewn edges.  Half the work is already done for you.  I pinned the cloth around the pillow and cut free hand.  This may scare some of you, but I promise it still comes out okay.  DSC_0152I cut a strip for the ruffle off the sewn edge and pinned down some pleats.  DSC_0154I had to spread out the fabric to get the pleats even.  And please notice I cut only one piece of fabric that will get folded together.  Less sewing.  DSC_0155 DSC_0157Then I pinned the edges together around the pillow.  Because the edges are already finished I don’t bother with any tucking or folding.  Just sew a straight line.   DSC_0160A great place to find pillow forms?  Cover your old pillows you are not using anymore.  I sure have a whole bunch…  You can also find pillow forms or pillows from thrift stores to recover.  DSC_0178 For another ruffled pillow, I did a tighter ruffle.  Cut freehand and didn’t bother to sew the edges.  It is a bit uneven so I snipped some of it with my scissors later.  It doesn’t have to be perfect.  DSC_0190 And just to show you the extent I will go for my laziness…I didn’t dare take the time to pin down every single one of those pleats but still needed it to be even with the sewing machine so it wouldn’t unravel.  So I made a little bridge with some alphabet blocks (for the baby shower).  But by turning the sewing machine to the side, I could no longer reach the foot petal.  So I put it on a chair and had to balance my foot off the floor.  Ridiculous, I know.  Makes me laugh.  I show my husband these pictures of things I do when he is not home.  He just rolls his eyes.  DSC_0192 I added a button as the ruffle was not holding it’s own.  I think it’s perfect!DSC_0193 I also used a pillowcase that came with our bedding that is too big for our pillows.  DSC_0208 Cut ruffle off freehand.  DSC_0210 The premade ruffle makes it even easier!  Look for pillowcases at places like thrift stores for cheap, to remake your own pillows!DSC_0223 I love all the white…DSC_0464 Do you sew your own pillows or buy?